The UAE Laundry: How to Wash British AI for Use in Sudan

So, we’re sitting here in 2025, and everyone is patting themselves on the back because we’ve finally got a "British" tech unicorn that isn’t just a food delivery app. Enter Anduril. It’s got the cool name, the "defense disruptor" branding, and it’s basically moved into the Isle of Wight like it owns the place.

But have you actually looked at the footprint? It’s less of a footprint and more of a muddy boot-print leading straight from a London boardroom to the middle of a genocide in Sudan.

The "Sovereign" Scam

Here’s the trick: Anduril spent the last few years convincing Westminster that they’re basically as British as Greggs. They’ve got the £17 million contracts with the MoD, they’re hiring hundreds of engineers, and they’re building "sovereign" drones. We love that word, don’t we? Sovereign. It makes us feel like we still have a manufacturing base.

But while they’re playing the "Local Hero" in the UK, they’ve been busy playing "Merchant of Death" in the desert. In late 2025, they signed a massive $200 million deal with EDGE Group, that’s the UAE’s state-owned arms giant. They’re building these things called Omen drones. High-end, autonomous, "Group 3" birds of prey.

The UAE Laundry Service

Now, for those who haven’t been following the UN Security Council’s latest beach reads: the UAE is currently the primary logistics hub for the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) in Sudan. The guys currently busy with a little bit of "ethnic cleansing" in Darfur.

The UAE says, "Who, us? We’re just sending humanitarian aid." Meanwhile, Amnesty and the UN are finding UK-licensed components, engines, sensors, and target-acquisition tech, scattered all over RSF battlefields. It’s a classic laundry service. We sell the high-tech kit to the "stable" ally in Abu Dhabi, and somehow, it ends up in the hands of a genocidal militia in El Fasher.

Lattice: The Brains of the Operation

And this is where it gets properly dystopian. Anduril’s secret sauce isn’t the drone; it’s Lattice. It’s an AI "operating system" for war. It takes a thousand sensor feeds and tells you exactly who to kill and when.

The problem is, software doesn't respect borders. If you sell the "brains" of the drone to the UAE, and the UAE puts those brains into a drone they "gift" to the RSF, we’ve effectively exported British-engineered genocide-as-a-service.

The Legal Fig Leaf

Our government loves to talk about our "robust" export controls. They’ll tell you about Criterion 7, the law that says we can’t export stuff if there’s a "clear risk" it’ll be diverted.

Well, in October 2025, the risk became a reality. We’ve seen the photos of Nimr armored vehicles (powered by Western tech) being used by the RSF. We’ve seen the suicide drones. And yet, the licenses keep flowing. Why? Because Anduril is "too big to fail" now. They’re part of the UK’s "strategic infrastructure."

...

So, next time you hear a minister bragging about how we’re a "Global AI Superpower," remember that the AI in question is currently being used to coordinate starvation as a weapon of war in Sudan. We’ve built a system where a startup can be a "sovereign UK success story" on Monday and the digital architect of a Darfur massacre by Friday.

"If you sell a high-tech leash and collar to a man known for letting his dogs maul the neighbors, you don't get to act surprised when there's blood on the leather."

Pass the wine, would you? It’s hard to talk about this sober.

References

The Guardian (2025). UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told. [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/28/uk-military-equipment-rapid-support-forces-rsf-militia-accused-genocide-found-sudan-united-nations (Accessed: 18 December 2025).

Anduril Industries (2025). Anduril UK deepens partnerships with UK industry for British Army's Project NYX. [online] Available at: https://www.anduril.com/news/anduril-uk-deepens-partnerships-with-uk-industry-for-british-army-s-project-nyx (Accessed: 18 December 2025).

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) (2025). Government allowed surge in arms exports to UAE despite knowledge of diversion to Sudan. [online] Available at: https://caat.org.uk/news/government-allowed-surge-in-arms-exports-to-uae-despite-knowledge-of-diversion-to-sudan/ (Accessed: 18 December 2025).

GOV.UK (2025) Strategic export controls: licensing statistics: 1 April to 30 June 2025. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/strategic-export-controls-licensing-statistics-1-april-to-30-june-2025/ (Accessed: 18 December 2025).

Joint Forces News (2025). EDGE Group and Anduril Industries Joint Venture. [online] Available at: https://www.joint-forces.com/world-news/defence-news/86816-edge-group-and-anduril-industries-joint-venture (Accessed: 18 December 2025).

The Guardian (2025) Whistleblower accuses Foreign Office of 'censoring' warning of Sudan genocide. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/03/whistleblower-accuses-foreign-office-of-censoring-warning-of-sudan-genocide (Accessed: 18 December 2025).